Moi University is a

public university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...

located in Kesses, Eldoret town, Uasin Gishu county, in the former Rift Valley Province of

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. It was established in 1984 by the Moi University Act of the

Parliament of Kenya The Parliament of Kenya is the bicameral legislature of Kenya. It is based at Parliament Buildings in Nairobi and consists of two houses. The upper house is the Senate, and the lower house is the National Assembly. See also * Politics of K ...

, after recommendations from the McKay Commission.

History

Moi University was first established in 1984. In its first year of existence, there was only one department - the Department of Forestry. The enrollment that year was 83. The university's school of medicine was established in 1996, and was the second school of medicine established in the country. The university's first VC was Professor D. Odhiambo, who served from 1984 to 1988. The current chancellor of the university is Prof. Dankit Nassiuma while the vice-chancellor is Isaac Sanga Kosgey.

MU in the 21st century

Most of the university's campuses became fully fledged universities in the early 2010s. The Garissa University College attack of 2015 occurred at the university's Garissa campus. In this incident, 5 gunmen claiming association with Al-Shabaab took over 700 students hostage, freeing those identified as Muslim, and killing 142 identified as Christians, with over 79 others injured in the attack plus 6 military and police fatalities. The siege was lifted the same day, with 4 of the attackers killed by the Kenyan GSU and one committing suicide via an explosive vest. From its founding, the university had no officially recognised mascot. However, in early 2017, students from the School of Engineering chose the Nandi bear to be their mascot and, pending consensus from other Schools, the university's mascot. It was chosen for its legendary status among the

Nandi people The Nandi are part of the Kalenjin, an ethnic community living in East Africa. The Nandi ethnic group live in close association and relation with the Kipsigis tribe. They traditionally have lived and still form the majority in the highland are ...

(the university was founded in Kesses, which was predominantly settled by the Nandi) and was given a temporary name - "Kerit the Bear".

Schools

The university emphasizes science and technology. It has the following schools: *School of

Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and Natural Resources; * School of Aerospace Science; * School of Arts and

Social Sciences Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of society, societies and the Social relation, relationships among members within those societies. The term was former ...

; * School of

Biological Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, and distribution of ...

and Physical Sciences; * School of Business and Economics; * School of Education; * School of

Engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

; * College of Health Sciences; *# School of

Dentistry Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the Human tooth, teeth, gums, and Human mouth, mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, dis ...

; *# School of

Medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

; *# School of

Nursing Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

; *# School of

Public Health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

; * School of Information Sciences; * School of

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

; * School of Tourism Hospitality and Events Management; *School of Graduate Studies

Institutes

* Institute for Gender Equity, Research and Development; * Peace and Reconciliation Institute; * Institute of Biomedical Informatics; * Institute of Open & Distance Learning; * Confucius Institute

Campuses

* Main Campus ldoret* Town Campus, including: **College of Health Sciences Medical Complex **School of Aerospace Sciences (Rivatex) **School of Law (Annex) *Nairobi campus *Coast campus (Pwani)

Constituent colleges

* Garissa University College

Satellite campuses

*College of Health Sciences *Annex Town Campus *West Campus *Mombasa Campus *Nairobi Campus

Traditions

Graduation

Graduation ceremonies are held each year at the Graduation Pavilion.

Kesses Dam

Boat rides in Kesses Dam are popular among students. Dating students, student clubs as well as individuals can enjoy a boat ride at the dam offered by local dam guides at a small fee.

Student life

Social

A nearby shopping centre called "Stage" supplies most of the students' economic needs. There can be found minimarts, nightclubs, convenience stores and other economic activities here. The origin of the name is from the time when the area was a stop for

matatu In Kenya, matatu or matatus (known as mathree in Sheng) are privately owned minibuses used as share taxis. Often decorated, many ''matatu'' feature portraits of famous people or slogans and sayings. Likewise, the music they play is also aimed ...

s that plied the Kesses-Eldoret Town route. Religious services are available at the Moi University Seventh-Day Adventist Church (MUSDA, LT3/LT4), Grace Chapel ('GC', Protestant), Lecture Hall 1 (Christian Union) and at St. Michael's Chapel (Catholic).

Clubs and societies

Some of the newspapers/publications are ''The 3rd Eye'', "Legacy", "AIESEC" among others. There are numerous societies for student engagement, such as Enactus, etc. The student radio station is 103.9MUFM.

Student body

The Moi University Students Organisation (MUSO) serves the student community in the pursuit of academic and social welfare. Elections are held at the end of every academic year (October/November. Campus Guide